THE Sandiganbayan Seventh Division has thrown out the appeal of a former Philippine Postal Corp. (PhilPost) Bayad Center teller on her conviction for malversation based on her failure to account for P614,742.92 of her collections.
In its 50-page decision, the anti-graft court upheld that the Binangonan, Rizal Regional Trial Court Branch 67 had proper jurisdiction over the case despite the objection of defendant Ma. Amparo Salvador and that the local court committed no reversible error in finding the accused guilty of the crime.
Based on the criminal information filed on March 9, 2020, prosecutors accused Salvador of converting the P614,742.92 to her personal benefit after she failed to submit a liquidation despite being demanded to do so.
The defendant admitted that she worked at the Angono Post Office but claimed the postmaster had custody of the vault that held the collections before they were taken to the depository bank.
She likewise raised technicalities questioning her designation as a Bayad Center teller, the alleged absence of a detailed computation on how the prosecution came up with P614,742.92, and whether she had official custody of the cash in question, saying that it was the postmaster who has actual custody of funds and obligated to accounts of daily transactions before depositing the money in the agency’s bank account.
In affirming Salvador’s conviction, the Sandiganbayan held that regardless of a formal designation as a Bayad Center teller, the accused accepted payments for utility bills and remitting cash collections together with the collection summary report to the postmaster.
“Accused appellant Salvador, as the Bayad Center Teller, has custody and control over the cash collections from the Bills Payment Services of Bayad Center by reason of the duties of her office. She is also accountable for the said funds, considering that she holds them before remittance to the Postmaster,” the Sandiganbayan noted.
Even if it was established that the postmaster had a vault where the cash remitted by collectors was held for safekeeping before being deposited in the bank, the court pointed out that the Bayad Center Teller also had custody of sums after they were paid to her.
“Verily, accused-appellant Salvador has custody or control over the cash collections from the Bills Payment Services of Bayad Center by reason of the duties of her office, thereby rendering her accountable for the said funds,” the anti-graft court added.
